Clock striking mechanism



J. B. WESLEY.

CLOCK STRIKING MECHANISM. APPLICATION FlLED APR. 14. 1920'.

1,361,424, I Patented Dec. 7,1920.

awwewboz JOHN B. WESLEY, or BETHELRIDGE, KENTUCKY.

CLOCK STRIKING MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. '7,

Application filed April 14, 1920. Serial No. 373,814.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

I Be it known that I, JOHN B. WESLEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bethelridge, in the county of Casey, State of Kentucky, have invented a new and useful Clock Striking Mechanism; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates to clock striking mechanisms and has for its object to provide a mechanism of this character wherein the hours and half hours will be struck on a spring and hell or any other signaling means which are differently toned. Also to provide means, whereby the half hours may e definitely distinguished as to which particular half hour it is.

A further object is to provide a striking mechanism for a clock, which striking mechanism, for instanceat twelve oclock will strike twelve times on a spring sounder and. at twelve thirty said mechanism will strike twelve times on bell, thereby allowing anyone within'hearing to know exactly which half hour has been struck. Said mechanism continuing in this manner of striking for all the hours of the day.

A furtherobject is to provide a striking arm pivotally connected to a XOtlkfiblfi striker shaft and to provide means operated by the minute hand so that the striking end of the pivoted arm will, when the minute hand is on the hour. hold said striking arm so that during a striking operation it will hit a spring alarm and when on a half hour will hold said sti'iking' arm so that it will en gage a bell during a striking operation. Also to provide means whereby the hours willbe struck and indicated in number on the spring alarm and the same number of striking operations repeated on the succeed in" half hours on a bell.

Vith the above and other objects in view the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts as hereinafter set forth, shown in the drawings, described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention may be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation of the striking arm shifting mechanism.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the shifting lever which is operated by the minute hand.

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view of the pivotal point of the striking arm.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a modified form wherein the striking arm is pivotally carried by the striker shaft.

Fig. 5 is a detail view of the form of shifting lever shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a detail view of a conventional form of striking mechanism.

Fig. 7 is a detail View of the double trip cam whereby the striking mechanism is caused to repeat the same number of strikes 7 as the previous hour, on the half hour.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates a conventional form of clock and 2 the minute hand shaft thereof. Secured to the minute hand shaft is a cam 3 which cam is so positioned on the minute hand that when the hour hand and minute hand are on the hour said cam will be in the upper position as shown in Fig. 1. However, it is also so positioned so that when the hour hand and minute hand are on the half hour said cam will be in its down position as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. Cam 3 r0- tates between and in engagement with lugs 4. carried by an operating lever 5, through a slot 6 of which lever the minute hand 2 extends. Operating lever 5 is slidably mount: ed in bearings 7 carried by any permanent portion of the clock frame. The lower end of the operating lever 5is provided with a right angle lug 8, which lug extends inwardly and is provided with a bifurcation 9 for the reception of the pivoted striker arm 10, the upper end of which ispivotally secured as at 1 1 to the striker shaft 12. The

pivotal connection 11 allows pivotal action inwardly of the striking end so that the same may be moved to a position where it will register with a spring sounder 14, against which sounder it sounds onthe hour or in registration with a bell 15 against which bell it strikes on the half hour. By providing two tones of sounding s gnals it will be seen that the striking may be easily distinguished whether the striking is of the hour or th; half hour. As the half hour is struck and indicated by the same number of strokes as the preceding hour it will be seen that the particular half hour may be distinguished from the preceding hour and at the same time the particular half hour distinguished.

Striking arm 10 is provided with a compound bend 16 thereby forming an inclined portion 17, against which portion the arms 9 of the bifurcation 9 will engage so that the striking arm 10 will be shifted and the sounding spring 14 on which the hours are indicated to the bell 15 on which the half hours are indicated as the operating lever is moved downwardly by the cam 25 to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1.

Referring to the modified form in Fig. 4: it will be seen that the striking arm is a slidable member which is slidably connected to the striker shaft as at 11. The clapper end 10 is carried by an integral arm 10 and so positioned that as the operating lever is lowered or raised, said clapper will be placed in registration with the spring striker 14 or the bell 15-, the shifting action being accomplished by means of the cam slot 5 and pin 5 carried by member 10. The upward and downward movement of the operating lever 5 is the same as in the form shown in Fig. 1, however instead of the bifurcation 9 in the lower end of the operating lever the above mechanism is used. It will be seen that as the striker shaft in both forms is rocked that the clapper 10 in Fig. l or the clapper 13 in Fig. 1 will be brought into engagement with the spring sounder or the bell according to the position of the cam 3 caried by the minute hand shaft. It will be noted that to make the striker arm repeat the striking of the hours at the following half hour that it will be necessary to provide the conventional form of striker operation mechanism 16 withmeans whereby a striking operation will take place at the half hour as well as on the hour. said striking operation being a repetition in number of stroke according to whether it is striking the hour or half hour. A conventional form of striker actuated mechanism is shown in F'g 6, es the minute hand shaft to which is secured a double cam 1'? diametrically arranged, cam members 17 as they r volve engage the arm 18 causing the lever to be rocked so that its ends 20 will be forced upwardly thereby releasing the weighted arm 21 raising the detent 22. Detent 22 after being raised allows the weighted member 21 to pivot downwardly so that its arm 23 will move in the dimetion of the arrow Arm 23 moves inwardly until its pin 2i rests against the toothed cam 25 which is fastened to the hour hand shaft 26 and revolves with it. lVhen the greatest diameter of the toothed cam 25 is in which figure the numeral 2 des-- in a position where it will be engaged by the pin and the pin falls against it, it only gives one notch 2i but when the next notch is in engagement with the pin then it gives two notches and so on. The double cam 17 on the minute hand shaft releases a striking mechanism every half hour so the pin 2% engages the same notch of the cam 25 twice in each hour, thereby making the clock strike the same number of times twice in the hour, that is once at the hour and once at the half hour. When the weighted member 21 is released and falls then wheel 28 is put into motion and the pin 29 of said wheel is pulled the distance of one notch back under the pivoted detent 22 at every revolution and the hammer strikes once for each revolution of the wheel 28. It is to be understood that any form of striking mechanism may be used. However, it is essential that the double cams 17 be used. The weighted member 21 is provided with a notch 27 for detent 22 to drop into to stop the striking mechanism.

From the above it will be seen that a clock striking mechanism is provided wherein the clapper arm will be shifted from one tone of sounding device to another so that the half hours will be readily distinguishable from the preceding striking of the hour. It will also be seen that by having the hall hour struck on a different tone sounding device and a number of strokes being the same as the preceding hour that it will be possible for those within sound of the clock to know which hour will be struck.

The invention having been set forth what is claimed as new and useful is:--

1. A clock striking mechanism comprising a lever having a clapper thereon, said lever being pivotally connected to the striker shaft, means for oscillating said shaft a corresponding number of times to the number of the hour, means for oscillating said shaft a similar number of times on the following hali hour, differently toned devices adapted to be engaged by the clapper for indicating the hour and indicating the half hour and means operated by the minute hand shaft for shifting the striker lever so that its clapper will register with one sounding device during the striking operation of the hours and with a second sounding device during the striking operation for indicating the half hours.

2. A clock striking mechanism comprising a lever having a clapper thereon, said lever being pivotally connected to the striker shaft, means for oscillating said shaft a corresponding number of times to the number of the hour, means for oscillating said shaft a. similar number of times on the following half hour, differently toned device adapted to be engaged by the clapper for indicating the hour and also for indicating the half hour, means for shifting the clapper arm so that its clapper will register with either sounding device according to the hour or half hour, said means comprising an operating lever, said operating lever being slidably mounted in bearings, the lower end of said operatin lever being so connected to the clapper arm that it will move said clapper arm according to the hour or half hour, spaced lugs at the upper end of the operating lever, and a cam carried by the minute hand and disposed between the spaced lugs and forming means whereby the operating lever is moved during a clapper shifting operation.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN B. WVESLEY.

Witnesses CLAUD WESLEY, ELVIE WESLEY. 

